Archbishop: No Law Can Protect Religious
Freedom, if People Don’t Defend It

Philadelphia’s Shepherd Discusses the Essence of Dignitais Humanae

by
Joan Frawley Desmond

In an
address on the state of religious freedom in the United States and across the
globe, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia targeted the shifting semantics
that obscure objective truth, as church-state tensions escalate and U.S. society
debates new definitions of human freedom and the family.

During a
March 17 lecture at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, "Of Human Dignity: The
Declaration on Religious Liberty at 50," Archbishop Chaput addressed the
concerns of Vatican II Fathers who approved the landmark document on religious
liberty, "Dignitatis Humanae," a half century ago. But he also noted the
changing context of public discourse and singled out "marriage equality," a term
that is widely used as a euphemism for same-sex "marriage," as an example of
"dishonest" political language that blurs, rather than clarifies, the subject at
hand.

"The
biggest problem we face as a culture isn’t gay marriage or global warming. It’s
not abortion funding or federal debt," said Archbishop Chaput. "The deeper
problem, the one that’s crippling us, is that we use words like ‘justice,’
‘rights,’ ‘freedom’ and ‘dignity’ without any commonly shared meaning to their
content. We speak the same language, but the words don’t mean the same thing.
Our public discourse never gets down to what is true and what isn’t, because it
can’t. Our most important debates boil down to who can deploy the best words in
the best way to get power," he said.

"Words
like ‘justice’ have emotional throw weight, so people use them as weapons. And
it can’t be otherwise, because the religious vision and convictions that once
animated American life are no longer welcome at the table."

Faith
Accessible to Reason

He
suggested that the Natural Law principles affirmed in "Dignitatis Humanae,"
(Human Dignity) by the Second Vatican Council were rooted in a faith that
was accessible to reason, and thus open to the experience and values of
non-Christians and non-believers. Today, cultural elites often dismiss the
truths of faith as an opinion, and they have redefined religious freedom as
freedom of worship.

"After
all, what can ‘human rights’ mean if science sees nothing transcendent in the
human species? Or if science imagines a trans-humanist future? Or if science
doubts that a uniquely human ‘nature’ even exists?" he asked. "If there is no
inherent human nature, there can be no inherent natural rights – and then the
grounding of our whole political system is a group of empty syllables." This
thinking, said Archbishop Chaput, has gradually undermined public respect for
free-exercise rights. But they would not go unchallenged in the public square or
in the courts or state legislatures if the majority of Americans remained deeply
engaged in their faith and defended it.

Halting
Government Overreach

While
the U.S. bishops have decried brutal attacks on Christians in the Middle East
and Africa, among other countries, they have also opposed the Obama
administrations attempt to narrow exemptions for religious non-profits, among
other concerns.

Catholic
leaders have spoken out against the Health and Human Services’ abortion and
contraception mandate, as well as a new initiative by the White House to require
all religious non-profits that receive government funds to provide services to
undocumented minors to provide emergency contraception and abortion referrals.

While
the U.S. bishops have framed the administration’s policy as a sharp departure
from settled U.S. law, which has provided broad free-exercise protections for
churches serving the needy. Archbishop Chaput stressed that overreach by the
government would only be halted if Americans themselves deepened their own faith
and respect for religious freedom. Further he offered these insights as the U.S.
Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments regarding the constitutionality of
state laws that effectively ban same-sex "marriage."

Church
leaders fear that changes in the nation’s marriage laws could threaten the
free-exercise rights of religious institutions and individual believers. But
some proposed bills designed to protect churches and small business owners have
been blocked by partisan groups, who frame such legislation as a license to
discriminate against homosexuals.

He
emphasized a critical lesson of history: A strong religious belief is
fundamental to a dynamic culture, and thus every American should be concerned
with the country’s fading religious practices and values. Still he said there is
reason for optimism, but only if political discourse and reform are strongly
anchored to inalienable truths about the dignity of the human person, made in
the image of God.

"We need
to remember two simple facts," he said. "In practice, no law and no constitution
can protect religious freedom unless people actually believe and live their
faith – not just at home or in church, but in their public lives. But it’s also
true that no one can finally take our freedom, unless we give it away."

Emerging
Challenges

Archbishop Chaput expressed a deep sense of hope that Americans will step up to
confront the emerging challenges to religious freedom at home, as well as most
brutal attacks on religious believers from the Islamic State group and other
militant groups abroad, in addition to governments.

"There’s
too much beauty in the world to lose hope; too many people searching for
something more than themselves; too many people who comfort the suffering; too
many people who serve the poor; too many people who seek and teach the truth;
too much history that witnesses, again and again, to the mercy of God, incarnate
in the course of human affairs," said Archbishop Chaput.

"In the
end there’s too much evidence that God loves us, with a passion that is totally
unreasonable and completely redemptive, to ever stop trusting in God’s purpose
for the world and for our lives." He recalled that the Second Vatican Council
took place within two decades of a devastating world war that witnessed a
parallel war against the Jewish people and other vulnerable groups.

"If
there’s an argument to be made against the worthiness of humanity, we’ve made
that argument ourselves, again and again down the centuries, but especially in
the modern age," he said. "Yet every one of the council documents is alive with
confidence in God and in the dignity of man. And there’s a reason: God makes
greatness, not failures. He makes free men and women, not cowards," he
concluded. "And when that miracle happens, even in just one of us, the world
begins to change."